Hollis-Jefferson brings energy, shutdown defence in electric Raptors win

Rondae-Hollis-Jefferson

Philadelphia 76ers' Matisse Thybulle, centre, gathers the ball between Toronto Raptors' Chris Boucher, left, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, right, during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Monday, November 25, 2019. (Chris Young / CP)

TORONTO — Like a linebacker on third down, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had his arms in the air, hands waving, urging an already delirious Scotiabank Arena crowd to drive the decibel level even higher. There were eight minutes to play, the Philadelphia 76ers were up one, and Josh Richardson was stepping to the line to shoot three.

He shouldn’t have shot one. Darting around a Joel Embiid pin-down, Jefferson had forced an off-balance three, realized it wasn’t getting close to the rim, and kicked his legs out trying to create contact with Toronto Raptors guard Terence Davis. It was in no way a foul. The players never touched each other. But Davis is a rookie and part of rookie life is getting calls like that. So Richardson went to the line. And Hollis-Jefferson looked to the crowd.

“We needed that energy, man. That atmosphere. We needed to ramp it up,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “We needed to make sure that he missed all of them.”

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And did he ever. Richardson went back-rim, front-rim, and out on the first. The building grew louder. Front-rim, back-rim, and out on the second. The crowd rose to their feet. And with Hollis-Jefferson waving, clapping, and charging in for the rebound, Richardson’s third went front-rim, backboard, and into the big right hand of Marc Gasol as the arena shook to its studs.

“Oh, man — that was electric. That was something special,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I felt it, like, running through my veins.”

It was a playoff moment during a Monday-nighter in November — a game that had as much juice as any regular season contest you’ll see, which seemed to suit Hollis-Jefferson just fine. Known around the Raptors locker room as “hustle man” — lest you make the mistake, as Pascal Siakam recently did, of referring to him as “JYD 3.0” — Hollis-Jefferson brought all kinds of piss and vinegar to the game from the moment he checked in midway through the first quarter.

He came up with the first of his three offensive rebounds a few minutes in and quickly found his groove in the Raptors’ offence, accepting a dump-off from Davis for a dunk and running cuts for Marc Gasol as he operated at the elbows. Spending time on Tobias Harris, Mike Scott and sometimes even Ben Simmons, Hollis-Jefferson played active, hounding defence. He was making such an impact that Raptors head coach Nick Nurse left him in all the way until halftime, a marathon 18-minute shift.

“That’s kind of our policy,” Nurse said. “We get you off the bench, and if you’re rolling, you’re going to roll as long as you want to.”

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Of course, playing the uber-big 76ers on a night the Raptors were already without Serge Ibaka meant Hollis-Jefferson was likely going to be seeing more run than usual. About two hours before the game, Nurse conceded that he’d likely be deploying some larger than normal lineups that night, using fives as fours, fours as threes, threes as twos — in so much as the NBA even still operates with traditional positions — in order to match Philadelphia’s size.

What he didn’t mention was that we’d see Hollis-Jefferson carrying the ball up the floor as a defacto facilitator at one point in a lineup featuring a wing, three forwards, and a centre. But it speaks to Hollis-Jefferson’s preparation and adaptability that he fit in seamlessly with the unusual group, and any group he played with Monday for that matter. Nurse used 13 different lineups against the Sixers, and Hollis-Jefferson was a part of 12 of them.

“I mean, you just never know in this league. You’ve always got to be ready whenever your number’s called,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “For the most part, I try to keep that mindset of, ‘Hey, you may play 15 minutes or you may play 30.’ So, I feel like I was prepared.”

As Toronto earned an emotional 101-96 victory over Philadelphia, Hollis-Jefferson put up 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in his most complete performance as a Raptor. It was the seventh consecutive game he’s played 20 minutes or more as he’s progressively earned more and more of Nurse’s trust. Out of the rotation not long ago, he’s now regularly the first man off the bench, and a fixture of Nurse’s transitional units mixed with starters and reserves.

“He’s a defender, he’s smart, he executes the coverage and he’s got great feet,” Nurse said. “I think Rondae has just become a really good player — a really good player.”

Story checks out. With an obvious nod to the fact he’s trailing seven teammates in minutes played, Hollis-Jefferson holds the fourth-best net rating (9.1) on the team. The Raptors are allowing only 100.5 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and 103.3 with him off of it.

And if you’ve watched him hoop since he returned from an early season groin injury, you’ve seen why. Hollis-Jefferson’s defensive energy hums somewhere between overcaffeinated and possessed, as he hounds whoever he’s guarding around the floor, feet in constant motion, long arms invariably outstretched from his body. It’s a dogged, blue-collar, and, most importantly, effective brand of defence — the kind of play the Raptors want to build their identity on.

Of course, you’ve also seen his offensive limitations. Things have not gone well if he’s taking a jumper from somewhere beyond 10 feet of the basket. His free throw attempts are aesthetically displeasing. But the Raptors have mitigated this by sending Jefferson to what they call the “dunker spot” on offence — the paint real estate directly to the right or left of the basket where he can camp out for offensive rebounds or receive dump-offs when his defender helps off of him.

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That’s where he feasted from against the Sixers, as Philadelphia aggressively double-teamed Siakam. It was a good game for Hollis-Jefferson to show how useful he is running out in transition, too. And then he goes and finishes left-handed while slicing underneath the rim in traffic:

It’s pretty amazing, all things considered, that the Brooklyn Nets simply cast Hollis-Jefferson adrift last summer, opting not to offer him a contract following his fourth NBA season. Although it’s fair to point out that the 24-year-old didn’t exactly shine during his first training camp with the Raptors and was among a group of newcomers Nurse publicly criticized for a lack of defensive effort on the eve of the season.

And yet, in hindsight, it’s hard to imagine Hollis-Jefferson’s energy or defensive play ever being sub par. Nurse has since referred to him as a “gamer,” suggesting he shows better under arena lights than he does on the practice court. It’s always nice to have both, but if you’re only getting one, Hollis-Jefferson’s certainly providing the one you want.

Nurse also says the repertoire of defensive schemes his team is currently playing at least quadruples the amount it was utilizing at this time last year. Part of that’s thanks to a long playoff run and the cohesion at the top of Toronto’s roster — with one obvious and notable exception — from last season to this one. But another part is the way players like Hollis-Jefferson and his fellow newcomer Davis have worked hard to learn their roles in what the Raptors are doing.

Nurse showed his team footage from their May playoff series with the Sixers before Monday’s game, driving home what worked, what didn’t and how everyone needed to execute. Hollis-Jefferson probably didn’t need to see it. He remembers watching the series closely, and knew when he got to the arena Monday it was going to be an intense, emotionally-heightened night.

Did he think he’d be waving to the crowd in between free throws, trying to amp them up like it was a goal-line stand? Maybe not. But if Hollis-Jefferson does one thing, it’s whatever it takes.

“I’m pretty sure that everyone as a whole wanted to come out fighting, wanted to come out playing hard. Me, too,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I did my job. I’m a competitor. So, whenever my number’s called, I’m going to go out there and compete hard. That’s what I do.”

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